Today sees the release of the latest single from Sweden’s retro/vintage rock act Lykantropi.
One of the most personal songs on their imminent ‘Tales to be Told’ album, ‘Axis of Margaret’ deals with the loss of bass player Tomas Eriksson’s mother.
“In the spring of 2017, I was floored by the band’s self-titled debut album and their soulful and yet tasteful music, standing with one foot in the psychedelic rock of the 60’s and 70’s and the other in modern folk music. Even the follow up ‘Spirituosa’ is a rare gem that takes me by storm.”
– Sofia Bergström, Aftonbladet
Tomas Eriksson talks about the deeply personal new single ‘Axis of Margaret’: “It is to some extent about when I found my mother dead and how surreal it was. It is about seeing how the person who once was your security merely becoming a shell and losing its soul. It is partly about the intense grieving, but also about the sorrow that she actually disappeared 20 years earlier when my father passed away. Her grief devoured her, it took away her meaning and made her an alcoholic in denial. Her name was Margareta and she was the shoulder of the family. At one point, at least.
‘Axis of Margaret’ is taken from Lykantropi’s upcoming album, ‘Tales to be Told’, out Nov. 6th
In today’s society the old folk tales can be thought to belong to the delusions of the past. With their groovy riffs and beautiful melodies, Lykantropi takes us via the werewolf transformation back to the rock and folk music of the early 70’s. Sweet harmonies reminiscent of The Mamas & The Papas are layered with electric guitars and flutes into a witch’s brew. A witch brew that also can be compared to other mighty bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Coven and Blue Öyster Cult.
Over the past year, vintage rock phenomenon Lykantropi, based in the Värmland woods of Sweden, has made re-releases of both the self-titled debut album and the sophomore ‘Spirituosa’ in a new collaboration with Despotz Records. Now they are releasing their third album; Tales to be Told – a collection of timeless fairy tales that together form a distillate of the band’s whole essence, both musically and personally.
The mysterious, inexplicable, and obscure have always been what primarily defines Lykantropi. Rock music that comes from the Scandinavian forest and wilderness, deforestation and mire, bottomed within our folklore, myths and legends. We cannot see or touch it, but definitely feel it, experience it and pass it on. That kind of art is more difficult to define, and to master, but it is probably what has made the sextet from Karlstad one of the most promising new additions that has entered Sweden’s rock scene in many years.
“Many have been good, but few if any do it as good as Lykantropi do. I’ve heard that they celebrate nature. Well, it tastes like a pine forest, it smells like a summer meadow and it has a touch of a blossoming San Francisco.” – Jesper Löfvenborg, NWT
STREAM ‘AXIS OF MARGARET’ HERE – DESPOTZ
